FH2 can never be like PR.
Not true exactly if you look at it from the very-unlikely-ever-to-happen point of view. If seriously dramatic changes were made to either one of the mods to bring them closer to each other, then yes, one could be like the other. As it stands right now in a more serious point of view, no, they wont be and never be like each other.
It's because while the theme is more vibrant FH2 was never designed for simple convenience and keeping newcomers on a more equal footing in mind,
And PR keeps newcomers on a more equal footing? I think the learning curve on both mods is seriously steep while in completely different levels. PR has this absolutely gigantic amount of set rules on how things work ranging from how to get specific kits, how to build up defenses, how to play certain game modes, how to actually hit people with your guns and how to get to the mindset of the mod as a whole. I'd say it is anything but having an equal footing.
However, Im not saying FH2 would be any better for a new guy. Things might be a bit more linear in a lot of things where PR exactly isnt, but the brutality of FH2 is what I see can be the most off-putting for a lot of people. While in PR you might go a round not dying or seeing anyone, not firing a single shot, in FH2 you are in the thick of it the moment you spawn. FH2's learning curve in my opinion comes from learning how to survive, how to kill and not be killed and doing all that without losing your goddamn mind while doing it.
while you can just join a squad, chat around and learn the game in PR, unlike the awkwardly frantic fashion of joining multiplayer in FH2.
That is a whole load of nonsense. You can join a squad just as well in FH2 and as you can in PR and do exactly what you describe. Difference is that FH2 being far more fast paced than PR, people dont always notice or have the time to answer to your chat messages. Joining squads can be as much of a bitch in both mods. Sometimes you find yourself a place straight away and sometimes you end up playing solo, or as in sometimes it is in PR, not at all as some servers dont allow lone wolfs (to my understanding anyways, which btw I fully support, loners can go find another game to play). FH2 is a lot more frantic and it can feel extremely overwhelming to a new guy just because of all the loud shit happening all over you all the time and with very lethal game world, it can be too much for people who hasnt got a thick skin, but PR can feel just as overwhelming and off-putting too when you have nothing but a snot-nosed helium voiced SL being all R.Lee Ermey on your virtual ass while you hump a dune doing nothing else for the 45 minutes.
Both mods got their pros and cons when it comes to new player experience and I wouldnt from my personal experiences go and say what would be flat out better for a newbie because quite frankly, in these times, everything seems overly complicated and unwelcoming to your average gamer.
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What goes to FH2 going standalone. As long as theres no EA all of a sudden becoming extremely interested about how people are handling their abandonware, my opinion is hell yes. Would be great considering getting a BF2 can be a tricky thing these days. Im all for it.